SUMMER
by dereban
Summary: A summer romance about a blonde knight and a redheaded champion. Inspired by the BROCKHAMPTON song but not necessarily a songfic.
1. In the heat of the summer

_In the heat of the summer…_

It was hot.

Unbearably hot.

Excruciatingly hot.

The hottest day of the recent heat wave to hit Vale, and Beacon was taking the brunt of it.

Students tried everything in a desperate attempt to cool down: the central air conditioning for the campus was overworked within the first couple of days and broke down, the dress code was temporarily lifted since the full Beacon uniform was a miniature sauna under the sun, and showers were rationed due to the high demand for cold water.

"I can't take this anymore!" the blonde shouted as he lay on the floor, limbs spread apart in front a rotating fan that billowed his damp white tank top and navy blue basketball shorts.

His redheaded partner sat at her desk, trying her best to focus on a report for Oobleck's class; which was becoming more and more difficult as the temperature of the dorm room only rose.

"I know how you feel Jaune, believe me, but this is the best that we can do for now. The air conditioning is still being repaired and the showers automatically shut off after fifteen minutes," she said, gently flapping the bottom of her orange spaghetti strap top in an effort to get some relief from the heat. "…though I have to agree that this heat is getting the best of me."

He looked up at her from his spot on the JNPR dorm room floor. He eyed the length of her pale legs from the tip of her toes all the way up to her exposed thighs until they reached her amber shorts. Jaune rarely saw his partner wear anything outside of her usual combat gear and uniform, and the chance to see her in casual clothes was an opportunity that was not lost upon him. Of course, Pyrrha always looked amazing no matter what she wore, and the last time he had seen her wear anything different had been the dance, where he was stunned by the sight of her in a long sleeveless red dress.

Jaune kept his eyes on her legs before averting his gaze at the slightest movement of Pyrrha's head. God, what would she think if she caught him checking her out? She'd probably think he was being a total creep. He was her partner, after all; the person that she was supposed to be able to trust the most. And here he was, ogling her like any other ludicrous fan they would meet on the street. Jaune stood up and started slowly pacing in the space that he had previously occupied, trying his best to snap himself out of his own unsavory fantasies and come up with a plan to alleviate the both of them from their hot torture.

Pyrrha stared at him, starting at his broad shoulders that had slowly become more prominent. Jaune entered Beacon frankly hopeless in any physical combat prowess but slowly started improving under her tutelage. Now, he could even hold his own against an Ursa and Pyrrha felt a small swell of pride for her sometimes student. Pyrrha's gaze descended down his back where the musculature had finally set in. Some of the credit was due to Pyrrha's training on the roof but a lot of it was due to Jaune's own endurance and desire to better himself. His shoulder blades popped out under his smooth almost tan skin, moving about anytime Jaune so much as lifted his arm, and a crevice began between them; one that led all the way down his spine before disappearing into the white fabric of his shirt. It was clear that Jaune was making an effort even outside of their sessions together.

Pyrrha's eyes snapped back to Jaune's head as he spun around to face her. She hoped that she hadn't been caught blatantly checking him out. God, what would he think if he caught her? She was his partner. He was supposed to be able to trust her in and out of battle and here she was peering over him like he was a piece of meat. She could handle if he didn't return her feelings, but she would never forgive herself if it ended up ruining one of the only genuine relationships she had.

"Okay, I'm making an executive decision as team leader. We're gonna go for an ice cream run." Jaune announced, standing proudly with his chest out and his knuckles on his waist.

Pyrrha looked at him skeptically before retorting, "Jaune, the cafeteria ran out within the first couple days of this heat wave. There's no more ice cream on campus." She hated dashing his hopes when he was just trying his best for the both of them.

Jaune slumped his shoulders and frowned. "Oh no, you're right. Why didn't I think of that? Whatever shall we do…" He put the back of his hand to his forehead and acted the part of a damsel in distress before following up. "…except we're not going to the cafeteria."

Pyrrha quirked her eyebrow, curious about what his plan was. Jaune knelt in front of Pyrrha, taking her hands into his own and looking directly up to her emerald eyes. She fought to steady her beating heart from its erratic pace at the contact.

"Let's go into town. Find an ice cream shop. Treat ourselves to something nice."

Pyrrha looked away, towards the unfinished assignment on her desk. "Jaune, I don't know." He followed her gaze.

"C'mon, Pyrrha. This is the perfect weather for it! It's way better than sitting here and slowly melting into your chair."

Pyrrha had to admit that he was right. Something cold sounded fantastic at the moment; but she didn't want to abandon the assignment before it was finished.

"Besides, it's not like you're getting much done right now anyways." He pointed out. "I know you're having trouble focusing on that report with the heat the way it is, I can see it on your face. Plus, you've been stuck on the same sentence for the past twenty minutes."

Pyrrha smiled. Of course, he had noticed. He always could read her like book, knowing exactly what was wrong with her without her having to say a word. Which was frustrating, since he could notice everything about her except her feelings toward him.

"C'mon," Jaune insisted, "doesn't a big sundae sound awesome right now? We've been stuck with cafeteria food for, like, a year! When was the last time you went out and had some _real_ ice cream? Not the packaged stuff they serve us?"

"Jaune, I've never been to an ice cream shop."

There was no reply and after an uncomfortable pause, Pyrrha looked at his face worriedly. Jaune's face had frozen up at her revelation, like his brain had shut down at hearing what she said.

"I'm sorry, what?" He finally responded after a beat.

Pyrrha's cheeks became the slightest tint of pink. "I've never been to an actual ice cream shop. My parents always said that it was unnecessary sugar growing up. I needed to keep my body in shape for the tournaments."

Jaune quickly let go of her hands and stood. "You've never had ice cream?!"

Pyrrha shook her head and looked down, ashamed. Why had she said that? It was just another reminder of how starkly different her childhood had been compared to others, and Jaune's reaction only proved it.

He couldn't believe it. What kind of parents didn't let their kids have ice cream? It was practically inhumane. What else had she missed out on growing up? He couldn't imagine his own parents forcing him to constantly watch his diet and withholding him from something as fundamental as ice cream.

"Then that's all the more reason we have to go!" Jaune exclaimed.

Pyrrha's eyes widened in surprise as she looked back up at him. "What do you mean?"

"This isn't just about beating the heat anymore! It's about you trying ice cream for the first time!" Jaune replied, returning to his kneeled position at her feet. "Jeez, I can't imagine someone never having ice cream. It's just so…" He waved his hands in front of him, trying to find the right word, "…essential."

Pyrrha's eyes fell again as a small pout started to form on her lips. Jaune immediately realized his mistake and scrambled for damage control.

"Sorry, Pyr. I didn't mean anything mean by it." His apology wiped the pout from her face and replaced it with a smile. Pyrrha's heart swelled whenever he called her that. It was his little pet name for her and she loved it. Sure, she was everyone's 'Pyrrha', but she was only Jaune's 'Pyr'. "I'm just really excited for you to try it out."

"I know you didn't." She replied. Pyrrha knew Jaune would never deliberately hurt anyone's feelings; he was simply too kind for that sort of thing. He never said anything ill-spirited, even to his enemies. Though they definitely deserved it.

He took hold of her hands again. "Pyrrha, I would be honored if I could accompany you on your first time."

Pyrrha's hesitations faded away as she felt Jaune's warmth in her hands spread throughout her body. He had been concerned for her, but only because he thought that she shouldn't have missed out on something as simple as ice cream. That was just how Jaune was with her. She was never the invincible Mistral champion. She was just his partner, his friend. She deserved to have all the little pleasures that she had missed out on because of her upbringing. She didn't belong on the pedestal that others trapped her on; she belonged on the ground with everyone else, living a normal life and being treated like a normal girl.

"What do you say?" He asked once more.

Pyrrha once again met Jaune's eyes. His deep sapphire orbs stared back at her with excitement, with anticipation, and with a slight gentleness that she couldn't quite place.

"That sounds grand."

 **xxx**

Jaune fought through his motion sickness during the airship ride into Vale, distracting himself from his queasiness by regaling Pyrrha with stories of his childhood. He was firmly invested in trying to catch her up, attempting to persuade her on how amazing the creamy dessert was. Not that she minded, of course. It was endearing how hard he was trying for her, condensing seventeen years of memories into a ten minute airship ride just so that she could have a taste of what it was like to grow up out of the spotlight. She enjoyed hearing Jaune talk about his upbringing, his family, his home; anything that let Pyrrha get to know him better.

And if their legs brushed against each other every so often, so what? It wasn't a bad thing. In fact, it was a really good thing if you asked her. Electricity moved through her thigh anytime it touched Jaune and she reveled in how close it made her feel to him. But she would never say that out loud. Instead, she settled for quietly enjoying the small chances at skinship.

It wasn't long before they exited the airship and entered Vale, much to the relief of Jaune's stomach.

"Oh thank God!" Jaune sighed as he breathed in fresh air. "I don't know how much longer I could have lasted."

Pyrrha giggled at his antics, ever the drama queen that he was. "Oh please, it's never as bad as you make it seem."

"Excuse me!" Jaune held a hand to his chest. "I barely held it down this time. The power of ice cream just kept me together during such a trying time." He replied, wiping away a fake tear.

Pyrrha rolled her eyes before playfully punching his arm and walking towards the town. His face lit up as he flashed his teeth in a trademark Arc smile and he moved to catch up to her. _Stupid Jaune and his stupid cute face_ , she thought. "So, where is this shop at?"

Jaune froze in his tracks as a sudden realization hit him. Pyrrha looked back at him with a raised eyebrow, questioning what was on his mind.

He brought a hand up and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Um, about that…I...don't actually know any ice cream shops around here."

Why did he still look completely and utterly adorkable even when he basically told her that he had no idea what he was doing?

"What would you do without me?" Pyrrha sighed before walking towards him and pulling out her scroll, searching for any local ice cream shops in the vicinity.

"Believe me, I ask myself that every day." Jaune said, silently thanking Pyrrha for helping him out as she filtered through the results that popped up on her screen.

It had only been a few months ago that any help from Pyrrha would have made Jaune feel inadequate. He had the asinine idea that getting help from a girl somehow made him less masculine. However, as he grew closer to his partner, he realized that there was nothing wrong with getting help when you needed it, especially when you were getting help from the most beautiful and capable girl at Beacon. Though, she didn't need to know that he had recently been faking his own helplessness to spend more time with her. What kind of guy didn't like getting the attention of the person he likes? So, sue him!

"Here, this place looks nice!" Pyrrha didn't notice as Jaune moved to her side, craning his neck down to get a better look at her screen. She managed to fight back the small "eep!" that caught in her throat and tried to control the blush that crept onto her face. She looked over at him, his kissable cheek within mere centimeters of her lips. The way the dimple formed as the ends of his mouth curved upward confirmed it: he was absolutely begging to be freaking smooched.

"Yeah! Sounds great! Let's head over!" Jaune affirmed and started walking in the shop's direction, taking his cheeks with him.

Pyrrha cleared her throat, mentally congratulating herself for her own self-control and rushed to catch up with her stupid adorkble partner and his stupid kissable cheeks.

 **xxx**

The shop had surprisingly not been crowded, though it made sense that no one wanted to leave their air conditioned homes in this heat.

The interior of the shop was mostly painted white, with pink and green stripes running along the sides to break up the monotony. To the left of the entrance was the glass display of numerous ice cream flavors, several sizes of waffle cones standing on top, and a register at the far end. To the right were a small group of tables and chairs for patrons to sit down and enjoy their frosty treats, a few of them already digging into their scoops.

Jaune's skin sprouted with goosebumps as soon as he felt the cooling embrace of the shop's air conditioning. "I never want to leave this place."

Pyrrha sighed in relief, agreeing with him. She wanted to cool down in here for as long as possible, though she knew that doing so would probably get them kicked out for loitering.

They walked over to the display, two pairs of eyes roaming over the selection of ice cream. Jaune, truly a veteran in ice cream consumption, only needed to look over the display once before coming to a decision. However, his partner looked apprehensive over the multitude of choices before her.

"Everything okay?" He pried.

Pyrrha turned towards him and hesitated before answering, "I guess I'm just kind of…overwhelmed. I mean, there are so many to choose from. And I don't really know which one to get seeing as how it's my first time."

He nodded in understanding, and directed her attention towards the display.

"Well, if I can offer a bit of advice…" He paused, waiting for Pyrrha's consent before continuing, "…I personally really like cookie dough. It's not too sweet since it's just vanilla, but the bits of cookie dough make it kind of new and interesting. I'd recommend it since you don't really know what you like yet. Plus, it's not too out there that it'll overwhelm you for your first time but it's not a boring basic choice either."

She grinned at him, appreciating his concern and his accounting for her tastes.

"That sounds grand."

A hefty middle aged man made his way towards the duo, donning a white paper hat, a white polo and a white apron with pink and green stripes running vertically down the front. He wiped his hands on a towel before throwing it over his shoulder and setting his hands on the chillled metal at the top of the display, "What can I get for you two?" His voice came out peppy and the gray mustache at the top of his lip bristled as he spoke.

"Uh, can we get a single scoop of cookie dough for her and a single scoop of birthday cake for myself?" Jaune spoke up.

"You got it!" the man said, grabbing a utensil behind the counter and forming a ball in a vat of cookie dough ice cream. "Are those going to be in cups or cones?"

"It's ice cream! You gotta have the cone!" Jaune replied with excitement in his voice.

The man let out a hearty laugh. "That's right! I like the way you think, young man!"

Jaune looked back at Pyrrha who looked unsure of the decision and gave her a small wink, "Trust me, you won't regret it." She smiled back at him and nodded. If he said it like that, how could she disagree?

"Now are you going to be paying for this together or separately?" The man asked as he handed the duo their cones.

"Oh, sep-," Pyrrha was cut off as Jaune handed her his cone to hold.

"Together!" He interjected and took out his wallet.

"Jaune, I can't let you do that. I can pay for myself." Pyrrha tried to insist.

"No way! I don't mind. Besides, I was the one that invited you out here in the first place. It's on me." Jaune countered as he fished out some lien.

Pyrrha moved to argue, but a voice cut her off. "C'mon, little lady! It's your boyfriend's job to pay for things like this! Just make it up to him later!" The man said with a wink.

The two of them blushed and Jaune hurriedly handed the man his payment. Pyrrha relented and celebrated inwardly at the fact that Jaune hadn't corrected him on the nature of their relationship. At least now she knew he wasn't exactly opposed to the idea of people thinking they were _together_ -together.

She handed him back his cone after he retrieved his change and they sat down at one of the tables on the other side of the shop.

Jaune had already bit into his scoop and let out a chuckle. He knew this had been a good idea.

Pyrrha observed her partner before glaring at her own scoop. She had faced down numerous strong opponents in the past, and here she was, scared of biting into some dessert.

Jaune noticed her nervousness and placed his free hand over her own on the table, reassuring her with his eyes that it would be fine.

She smiled warmly at their joined hands before returning to the cone and taking the plunge.

She moved the cool treat around her mouth as her eyes lit up.

The vanilla coated her tongue in sweetness, but hadn't assaulted her with it. And the small bits of cookie dough added texture. She bit down on the tiny pieces as they moved over her teeth and she marveled at their soft chewiness.

"Wow…" she finally said, in awe of how many years she had gone without this in her life.

"I told you so." Jaune replied smugly and flashed another confident grin. He eyed the cone in her hand and went over the idea that popped into his head. It was normal for friends to do that, right? He worked up the courage and he lunged forward, stealing a bite.

Pyrrha gasped and pouted at him in mock anger. "Mr. Arc, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you recommended this for me just so you could have a second flavor to eat from."

Jaune didn't meet her gaze and looked to the side as he savored the flavors in his mouth, trying his best to look innocent.

He felt a squeeze in his hand and looked back at Pyrrha, her gentle smile assuring him that she wasn't upset and only poking fun. He returned the smile and tilted his own cone towards her.

"Here, so we're even." Jaune said, offering her a taste.

Pyrrha eyed his cone, curious at its vibrant blue color. "What flavor was this again?"

"It's birthday cake." He answered. Pyrrha raised her eyebrow at this.

"How do they do that? Does it actually taste like birthday cake?" She inquired.

"Well, why don't you just try it and find out for yourself?" Jaune said, nudging the cone in her direction.

She slowly took a bite of the blue cream and smacked her lips gently as she analyzed the taste.

"Oh! It actually tastes like cake!" She piped up, surprised but clearly enjoying herself.

Jaune beamed at her before digging back into his ice cream, and looked towards the opposite end of the shop. The man who had served them was standing behind it, flashing him a suggestive grin. _Oh god._ Jaune whipped back towards the table and tried his best to ignore the silent implications being sent his way.

Pyrrha continued ravishing her own cone, reveling at how the coolness of the dessert and the warmth from Jaune's hand fought over her body. Her first experience having actual ice cream had been unforgettable and it was all because of the boy that she adored from across the table. Jaune made sure that nothing ruined this for her and she knew that she would remember this day for years to come. And if anyone made a comment on how cute they looked together, it wasn't like she was going to correct them. She encouraged it, even.

Although, the way that he kept her hand in his own was more than enough for her at the moment.

 **xxx**

 **Hi, my first fic here. I've been in a big Arkos mood for like two months straight.**

 **This was inspired by the song SUMMER by BROCKHAMPTON. I know that the song is sung from the perspective of a man singing to another man, but I couldn't help but connect the lyrics with Pyrrha's perspective on her relationship with Jaune.**

 **I'm not trying to erase gay experiences with straight ones. Not trying to be problematic.**

 **Just manifesting an idea that I had and became very passionate about.**

 **This is just the first part, I'm planning two more parts. This was mostly to establish Jaune and Pyrrha's feelings for each other. The next part is hopefully going to focus more on the two of them making their feelings known to each other.**

 **If you liked this, but can see how I can improve, I'm hoping to get some second opinions going forward to help me edit my work better.**

 **Thanks for taking the time to read this.**


	2. You're so different from the rest

_You're so different from the rest…_

Weiss Schnee burst through the door to Team JNPR's dorm with no regard to the occupants inside. She burned with the visage of a woman on a mission with no time for obstacles to hinder her path.

"Where's that goofball?"

Four Beacon students looked at her curiously, still taken aback at the abrupt way she entered their room before a single hand raised in the air from a desk on the right side of the white-haired intruder.

"Uh, are you talking about me?" Jaune asked tentatively, mentally searching through all of his interactions with the heiress during the last week for an instance where he could have potentially upset her.

She immediately leapt in front of him and pointed a stern finger at his nose.

" **You** are going to take **me** out on a **date** to the Vytal Festival fairgrounds this Friday." She started, poking at the air in front of Jaune's face to emphasize each significant piece of information she wanted to relay to the blonde dolt. "We'll meet by the statue in front of the main entrance at 7:00PM. Dress nice and don't be late. Got it?" A narrow glare adorned her face at the end of her demands.

He didn't say anything at first, reeling from trying to process everything and finally sputtered out a meek, "W-Wait, what? Why?"

His inquiry was met with an audible sigh and his question was dodged with a wave of her hand, "Don't worry about that. Besides, you've been hitting on me for the entire first half of freshmen year and now I'm giving you a chance to woo me. Are you really going to bother asking why I want to go on a date with you? Just say 'okay' like a good little boy and I can be on my way."

Jaune faced his team, hoping to get some advice on how he should handle this… predicament. Jaune housed a crush on Weiss in the past, this he wouldn't deny. But if someone were to ask him if he were still interested in the girl now, he would vehemently deny it. Don't get him wrong, Weiss was beautiful and definitely a great catch, but he finally got the message after the dance: Weiss showed no interest in him. There was no use barking up the wrong tree. Plus, there was an unspoken 'thing' between her and Neptune, and he wasn't the type of guy to involve himself in other people's relationships.

He looked expectantly at Ren, who ceased polishing StormFlower on his bed. If there were anyone who could offer some kind of sane resolution, it was good, old, level-headed Ren. His calm attitude and cool demeanor got the team out of a multitude of sticky situations in the past and since he was the only other guy on the team, the two developed a close friendship (Nora liked to call it a 'bromance'). Ren merely shrugged his shoulders, seemingly as bewildered as Jaune was at the entire situation.

Well, so much for that.

He quickly shifted his gaze to JNPR's resident bundle of hyperactivity who stopped playing a game on her Scroll due to the intrusion. If Ren offered no peaceful solution to Jaune's problem, then crazy would just have to do. When in doubt, go with your gut; and Nora was the very definition of 'going with your gut.' Every action she took appeared spur of the moment, no thought behind it whatsoever, pure instinct. Sure, some would call it 'irresponsible' or 'naïve' or 'completely insane', but Nora's ability to react quickly was something that Jaune found valuable on the battlefield and in life. She met his eyes, which were silently asking her _what the heck do I do?_ Nora slowly raised Magnhild as a sheepish smile signaled back _we could break her legs?_

Zero for two.

He finally descended upon the occupant of the only other desk in the room: his trusted partner, his best friend, the one person at Beacon that brought him reassurance and self-confidence. Surely, Pyrrha Nikos could help Jaune out.

He internally pleaded, practically begged her to help him diffuse this…this…whatever this was. His thoughts screamed, _I really don't want to go with her!_ and _How do I let her down gently_? But most of all: _I'd rather go with you_.

He'd been planning on asking Pyrrha to a night at the Vytal Festival fairgrounds, a hidden intent of closing some of the distance that still lingered between them. The ice cream date (it was a date to him) they'd went on a couple weeks ago did wonders for their friendship, but he wanted to go beyond that. He knew that she was way out of his league, and that he'd only progressed his combat skills thus far with Pyrrha's help, and that he was just a nobody from a nowhere town in Vale who stole a hand-me-down weapon he barely knew how to use while she was the infamous four-time consecutive tournament champion from Mistral whose sheer talent in a fight landed her on the front of a freaking Pumpkin Pete's cereal box.

But really, who the hell cared?!

He knew these feelings he had were authentic, and went beyond simple adoration. Pyrrha made him feel something that no one else came close to replicating, not even Weiss, and he knew he would be a damn fool to ignore this.

He poured all of his conflicting emotions into his gaze, hoping that his partner/best friend/crush/most trusted confidant/love of his life would pick up on the desperation he emitted.

Except she wasn't even looking at him. She was glued to the book on her desk, the book whose page she hadn't turned since Weiss walked into the room. She couldn't see his absolute panic.

"What do you think, Pyrrha?" He finally asked aloud, once the silence became unbearable. He ignored the way Weiss raised her eyebrow and looked back at Pyrrha with curiosity. After all, who asked their partner if they could go on a date? He didn't care if it was weird; he needed to know what Pyrrha thought. She was the one that mattered to him. And if she said not to go, he'd gladly refrain from doing so.

But he needed to hear it.

Needed to hear the girl that plagued his heart tell him to stay.

Stay with **her**.

Pyrrha balled her hand into a fist, and Jaune saw how she toiled over the words in her head; trying to figure out how to voice her thoughts with extreme difficulty. He prayed to every entity in the heavens that she would tell him not to go. That she would make up some excuse about how the entire team planned on going together to the fairgrounds that day; which technically he was going to use to save face if Pyrrha seemed uncomfortable with the idea of the two of them going alone.

She finally released her fist and shakily replied, "U-Um, I think you should go for it."

What?

What the hell was she saying? Why was she telling him to go with Weiss?

"I-I mean, she has a point. You have been pining after her for a while now, Jaune. And now you have your long sought-after opportunity. Seize it."

Who was she to ruin Jaune's chances with the girl of his dreams? She was just his partner, just his friend. Just someone on the sidelines without the courage to take what she desired. It would be unfair for her to hog him all to herself; meanwhile Weiss had worked up the nerve to finally give him the shot he deserved.

She didn't look up once as she shattered Jaune's hopes.

 _No, no, no, no, no, no, no! What are you talking about? I haven't hit on her in months_! He internally shouted.

"Well, there you have it. So? Are we going or what?" Weiss asked, turning back to a flabbergasted Jaune.

He switched back and forth between her and Pyrrha, trying to understand what could possibly be going through his partner's mind to force her into pushing him away.

Did she really think that he still had a crush on Weiss? After the dance? And the ice cream date?

The heiress began impatiently tapping her foot, her glare suddenly icy. It quickly ate away at his willpower, and the awkwardness was killed him.

"U-Um, okay. I guess…I'll see you on Friday." He drawled out.

"Good." She nodded curtly, before turning around and exiting the room.

All four residents remained stock still, the shock of the entire ordeal still fresh. Jaune looked at Pyrrha again, but she still hadn't met his eyes. Her face racked with discomfort, like her heart just fell from the tallest building in Vale. Both of her hands balled into fists.

Ren gave Jaune a mournful gaze. His leader privately revealed his love for the redhead to him the morning after the dance in the boys' washroom while he had been going through his morning routine. He lent his ear to the blonde knight excitedly pouring his heart out about how things with Pyrrha were starting to feel different, different in a romantic way. It took two entire weeks of Ren convincing Jaune that his feelings for her were not misplaced; that he wasn't simply trying to find a rebound after Weiss; that maybe these feelings inside him had actually been there for a while now.

It took another week to expel the guilt that pooled inside Jaune's stomach and pull him up from the well of self-loathing he'd fallen into after he claimed to not deserve someone like Pyrrha.

After the ice cream 'date' (or so the love-stricken blonde claimed), it seemed like things between the two were looking up; but now, this fiasco with Weiss was going to regress it all back to square one.

He turned to his childhood friend, who shared a somber look that meant she felt the same. Nora suspected about Pyrrha's previously one-sided crush on Jaune during their first week as a team, and her suspicions were confirmed after the issue with Cardin. Anyone who saw the way that Pyrrha looked at him and the tiny glint of wanton could tell: she had it bad.

And yet, she never took that necessary leap to let Jaune know how much affection she held inside. Instead, she forced herself to remain his best friend and helped him flirt with other girls out of the kindness of her own heart, even when it tore her up inside.

Footsteps thundered in the hallway, getting louder as they neared the open door that Weiss failed to shut upon her leave.

Two sneakers skid against the carpet, and a gloved hand gripped the door frame to halt the mad dash. The head of blue hair apparently arrived at its destination.

"Was Weiss just here?" Neptune managed to breathe out, heaving pants peppering his statement.

"Uh, yeah. She just left after she asked me out on a date?" Jaune said skeptically, almost like he still couldn't believe it happened.

Pyrrha bit her lip at the reminder.

"God!" Neptune hissed, and threw his hand up to his forehead in exasperation. "It was just a little joke. It didn't even mean anything!"

"Uhh, what didn't mean anything?" Jaune probed. He slowly rose from his chair to meet the panting teenager in the door frame.

Neptune closed his eyes and seemed to be having trouble deciding whether or not to fill the four of them in on the cryptic message until he finally relented.

"Weiss and I were fighting earlier, about me flirting with Team NDGO during our match."

They took the revelation in and their leader curtly replied, "Well, yeah. She's right. I mean, you guys do seem kind of exclusive, she's allowed to be upset with you."

"It's not like I was going to actually ask them out! It was just…I don't know…banter before the match. You know, to psych them out!" Neptune tried to defend himself.

"Dude, c'mon." Jaune's response dripped in disbelief, "Even I can tell that's not a good excuse. You show interest in Weiss and then turn around and flirt with the girls you're fighting? What did you think was gonna happen?"

"I don't know!" Neptune fumbled, "But I didn't think she was gonna go and ask you out to try and make me jealous!" His hands went to his knees and his shoulders slumped, depressed.

Jaune stepped back and assessed the fact that Weiss had only asked him out in a ploy to make another guy jealous. Pyrrha visibly relaxed.

"Huh, so that's what this is all about."

Neptune lamely affirmed with a "Yeah…" before venomously following up. "I've got to get back at her for this."

Jaune looked at Neptune incredulously. "What do you mean, 'get back at her'? This is your fault in the first place!"

"I have to! If she thinks that I'm gonna come crawling back to her, then she's got another thing coming." He stood up straight. "No, two can play at that game."

He bounded towards Pyrrha and shoved Jaune aside to get to her.

"Pyrrha, you've got to go on a date with me! Same day as Weiss! We're gonna show her that no one makes Neptune Vasilias 'jealous'!"

She stared at the blue-haired student from Haven, clearly taken aback at the invitation. She missed the look of panic on Jaune's face entirely.

Her automatically helpful attitude kicked in. "O-Okay." She muttered. Jaune paled and his knees buckled underneath him.

"Alright. Send me the details later." Neptune ordered after exchanging contact information with the redhead and then promptly left.

Jaune glared at him on his way out before looking to the floor, eyebrows knitted in frustration, and then went back to his desk. He wrenched the chair out with more force than was needed and returned to the comic book left unattended since Weiss's arrival with a huff.

Pyrrha gazed at him apologetically, but once he made it clear that he wasn't planning on looking back up, she returned to her own book.

Ren observed all this worriedly, and then faced Nora yet again, silently asking, _Should we get involved in this?_

She quickly shook her head and went back to playing her game.

 **xxx**

This didn't feel right.

This didn't feel right at all.

They'd been waiting at the statue for the past fifteen minutes and it was almost nearing 7:30.

Jaune tried to keep himself occupied by spinning his Scroll on his fingers but he couldn't ignore the quiet fuming to his right.

When he'd told Weiss about changing their plans into a double date with Pyrrha and Neptune, she'd been annoyed to say the least. A few choice words here and there, but she eventually agreed to act civil around the blue-haired boy.

After another failed attempt at trying to balance his Scroll on his middle finger, he gave up and looked over at his date, who was incessantly typing away at a message.

Her hair kept its usual side ponytail, adorned with her usual headpiece. Tonight was the debut of a new long sleeve dress that started light blue at her shoulders and changed into white at her knees. The dress exposed her collarbone as a white lace cami covered her chest and her milky white heels which held small diamonds on the ends of the straps matched the color of the hand purse she was carrying.

Jaune had to admit: she looked good, and she probably knew she looked good. Weiss carried an air of confidence with her outfit that he wanted to imitate.

"You-uh-ahem…You look nice tonight." He tried his hand at making conversation.

"Hmm." was all he got back.

"Right…" He ended lamely. She could have at least said something back about the outfit he'd chosen.

He'd forgone styling his unruly mess of hair and stuck with its characteristic shagginess. He wore a white T-shirt with a black neckline that ended in a 'V' at his chest and paired it with a black blazer he'd forgotten he brought with him to Beacon for "formal" events. He couldn't part ways with his blue jeans, however, though now they were kept up by a single brown leather belt that was usually hidden by his Pumpkin Pete hoodie. His trademark sneakers were left abandoned in his dorm closet, and were replaced by a pair of brown boots he got from his dad.

Jaune looked down at his own outfit for the night and then to Weiss's, and the stark contrast between the two just further cemented how **off** it all felt.

 _We don't match at all_. He thought and the guilt rose from the pit of his stomach. Why had he agreed to this thing in the first place? He should have just said he couldn't make it. Why was he expecting Pyrrha to make up some excuse for him when he could have just told Weiss 'no' himself? And now here he was, on a date with the wrong person while the right one was arriving with someone else on her arm.

"Here they come." He heard Weiss say. _Speak of the devil…_

Or more like, speak of the _angel_.

She looked amazing.

Her hair was in its typical ponytail but she'd left the golden coronet behind. She wore a white blouse that hung loose on her frame but seemed to accentuate her curves anyway. Maybe it was the thin black leather belt that hugged her hips, or maybe it was the black tights that covered her shapely legs. The brown open toed sandals she wore matched the purse whose strap draped over her shoulder.

He managed to catch the breath that escaped him at her arrival before he set his eyes on her date, who quickly stuffed his Scroll into his back pocket.

His trademark goggles were nowhere to be seen and his undercut blue hair was now slicked back. His leather jacket was gone, as well, and in its place was a blood red dress shirt with maroon floral patterns on the shoulder blades. The sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the top two buttons remained undone, showing off his collarbone and the bronze skin underneath. The shirt tucked into a pair of gray slacks, held up by a black leather belt that matched his black leather boots.

 _Way to make a guy feel inadequate, Neptune. You suave son of a-_

"You clean up pretty nice."

Jaune quickly ignored the animosity that threatened to come up and turned towards his partner. She looked up at him with emerald globes that he adored and the green eye shadow just made him fall deeper into those fields. God, she was breathtaking, even if it was just casual wear.

"Thanks, it's not much but even I can look nice if I try a little." He said bashfully. That compliment really picked up his spirits. "You don't look too bad yourself. I didn't even know you owned this." He gestured to her ruffled blouse, the thin fabric billowing in the slight breeze that passed by.

"Not many chances to wear it. I thought this was as good a time as any to show off my wardrobe. I do own clothes that aren't combat gear, you know?" She joked.

They shared a small laugh together and remained facing each other, as the blushes on both of their cheeks warmed their faces in the cool night air. It was like they were the only people in their own little world, and they both forgot about the two other people they were supposed to come with until a cough broke them out of their reverie.

"If you two are finished ogling each other, I'd like to head to the fairgrounds now." Weiss requested, though it came off as more of a demand. She twirled around and started walking toward the direction of lights and sounds in the distance.

Pyrrha cleared her throat and tried to dispel the awkward air around them. "I suppose she's right. We should be on our way." She left Jaune hesitantly and caught up to the haughty heiress already a distance away.

Neptune, meanwhile, flashed Jaune a smirk, and the blonde dipped down like a child caught doing something he shouldn't have. The bluenette said nothing but the smug aura remained as he walked alongside the embarrassed leader and the two boys followed the girls ahead of them.

After he managed to dispel the embarrassment out of his mind, Jaune's eyes naturally landed on Pyrrha's back.

 _Well, at least_ _ **we**_ _match_.

 **xxx**

The Vytal Festival fairgrounds were awash in excited patrons, ranging from local Valean families to students visiting from other academies. The stalls that lined the field of grass offered prizes locked behind challenging games, specialty cuisine from the other kingdoms of Remnant, and the occasional limited edition "Vytal Fest" merchandise. At the edge of it all was a giant Ferris wheel that offered a view over all the festivities, as well as the city of Vale.

"Wow…"

Pyrrha gaped in awe at the vibrant energy that radiated from the commotion and closed her eyes as she let the sounds and smells of the fairgrounds shower her with bliss.

"Yeah, I know. I mean, I went to a lot of fairs when I was a kid, but I've never seen anything as big as this." A voice responded next to her. She reopened her eyes and turned to find Jaune, his face mirroring her own joy. "This is kinda awesome!" His happiness lit up his face and it seemed like the knight reverted ten years in age with the way he was sweeping over the stalls with vigor. Pyrrha couldn't help but smile at the way her beloved still kept his childlike wonder and sense of fun.

Jaune finally caught her gaze after he finished examining all of the attractions on display, recognizing an anticipation in her eyes for new experiences and an appreciation for him, like she knew he would surely show her a wonderful time tonight. It reminded him of their ice cream date.

He gave her a grin and saw how her hands slowly moved to grab his arm, when he was suddenly tugged from the other side and heaved forward.

"C'mon!" Weiss exclaimed, dragging Jaune with her towards the game stalls.

The redhead deflated, and let an exasperated huff escape her lips before noticing an appendage extended to her.

"Shall we?" Neptune flashed her with one of his playboy smiles.

She ignored it and grabbed hold of the offering as they caught up to the scalps of white and yellow.

They stopped at a stall with a boisterous vendor that caught their attention: the man was topped with cropped black hair and a blue bandana tied around his forehead to absorb the sweat that dotted his brow. He wore a simple gray t-shirt that was damp around the neckline and khaki shorts.

"Come one, come all! Calling all sharpshooters!" The vendor shouted, beckoning people passing by. "The game is simple! Shoot down the cups, win a prize!" Behind him were two shelves. Each shelf held groups of three metal cups stacked into pyramids, four groups on the bottom and two on the top. "If you can shoot down three stacks, you get the big one!" He gestured to a giant stuffed lion that hung from the rafters. Its fluffy golden mane complimented the whiskers on either sides of the curled mouth and a long paint brush tail popped out of the back of the chubby, furry body.

Pyrrha was enamored.

A test of skill, accuracy, and reflex outside of combat? Was this how most fairs were? Anyone that could meet this challenge must surely be a potentially deadly marksman. And since Miló was technically a rifle one third of the time, she had a shot at winning that cuddly lion. F-For Nora, of course. Though, she wouldn't mind having it in her bed to cuddle with some nights. She might have also already settled on a name.

"What do you say? Wanna give it a go?" Jaune asked from beside her.

"Why yes, actually. It looks quite fu-"

"Leave it to me! I'll get you that prize!" Neptune interrupted and went to pay the vendor for a spot.

"Oh…" Pyrrha deflated. There went her chance of playing the game. She certainly appreciated his sentiment of winning the stuffed lion for her, as she really did want it. However, she was eager to try and win it herself. Refusing his offer now only to best him might seem rude and self-centered.

She sighed and stepped back, looking defeated as Neptune prepared himself for a game.

Jaune eyed his partner and his heart dropped once he felt the disappointment radiating off her. He'd seen how much she wanted to participate, which was why he even suggested it in the first place. And here came Neptune, somehow ruining it all.

He glared at the back of the bluenette's head. _What's the point of getting her the prize if she isn't even having any fun? Besides, if there's anyone here that has a chance of knocking down all three of those stacks, it's her! This is just another dumb macho display to stroke his own ego. Gods, is this how_ _ **I**_ _used to act?_

He turned back to the dejected redhead and opened his mouth to comfort her when a smack impacted his shoulder. He twisted around to see the Schnee heiress with her arms crossed, looking at him pointedly.

"Well?" Weiss asked haughtily.

Jaune raised a brow. "Well, what?"

Her eyes rolled. "Aren't you going to win me a prize too?"

"Oh! Uh…did you want one?" The blonde asked cluelessly.

"It sure would be nice!" His date snapped.

Jaune recoiled. "Okay… I guess." He left the pair of girls and advanced towards the stall.

Pyrrha gave Weiss a stare of disapproval, but the head of white was busy checking her nails. _She can't just do that. If she wants a prize so much, she should play for it. Why does Jaune have to win it for her? And what's with the way she asked him?_

The vendor collected the lien from the boys and started explaining the rules. "Alright fellas, you each get three shots. If you can knock down even one stack, you get a little prize. If you can knock down all three, you get the big guy up there." He thumbed the lion. "Now, knocking down means that all three cups have to fall. Doesn't count if even one of them is still standing. Understand?" The two nodded. "Alright! Fire away!"

The first round of shots left the barrels of the mock rifles. Predictably, Jaune missed the stack by a wide margin. He looked back at Weiss, clearly annoyed. "You know, not to be a downer, but I don't have a lot of confidence in my aim. I doubt I'm gonna be able to hit anything." The heiress simply raised her eyebrow and the way her face twisted implied that she wasn't taking any excuses.

"But I guess I'll keep trying anyways…" he said, no longer reasoning with her. He turned back towards his stacks, all three still standing. In his peripheral, he saw that all three of Neptune's were untouched as well. He glanced at his momentary rival, the boy clearly flustered at the fact that he missed.

He loudly cleared his throat. "L-Let's just keep going."

Jaune nodded slowly. "Uh, sure."

A second round of shots flew out, followed by a third. Jaune failed to knock any of his stacks down, shrugging his shoulders in accepted defeat. He wasn't even really trying that hard to begin with. _I mean, I use a sword and shield. Long range accuracy isn't my biggest forte._

Neptune, on the other hand…he was losing it. He tugged at the collar of his shirt, abruptly feeling warm from the heat on his cheeks. Like Jaune, none of his stacks had been knocked over. They stood pristine, mocking him with their…their…okay, they weren't doing anything, but they were mocking him all the same! His weapon actually changed into a gun! Surely, he would have gotten at least one of them, right? He circled around to see his friends looking at him with concern.

"Uh, well...you know…I'm more suited to rapid fire. Yeah, that's it! Spray and pray!" Gods, he hoped they bought that.

They didn't.

"O-Oh, of course. Well, at least you gave it your best, Neptune. That's all that matters." Pyrrha said. Neptune started to brighten up with his date's encouragement.

Jaune followed up on comforting the usually suave sweet talker. "Uh yeah, man. Don't worry, it happens to everyone. Even I couldn't get one of them down." Neptune's face sank after being compared to the guy with possibly the worst combat prowess at Beacon.

"Just let me try again! I'm pretty sure I can get it this time!" He spun back around towards the vendor, fishing his wallet out to pay for another attempt.

Pyrrha sighed, hoping that they could move on from this already. She was only interested in playing the game and winning the prize on her own merits, but it wouldn't really mean as much if someone else won it for her.

Jaune noticed his partner's dejection and eyed her date.

He had an idea.

He also walked to the vendor and paid for a second attempt at the game, much to Pyrrha's surprise. He didn't seem too keen on the idea of winning a prize for Weiss earlier, so she expected him to give up after the first effort. And now, he seemed determined to try again. He held the gun up to his shoulder and started to aim, when his right arm fell. He dropped the mock file, gripped his arm with his left hand, and started wincing.

"Oh, ow, oh no." He spoke flatly, "My shooting arm. The arm that I use…to shoot. It's all cramped. I can't go on even though I desperately want to." He looked towards the girls. "If only there were someone who could take my place. Someone whose weapon was also a rifle and would have no trouble shooting down these darn cups!"

Pyrrha seemed confused. Why was Jaune doing this bit? If he didn't want to play anymore, why did he pay again? And why was he asking for someone to play for him?

Weiss rolled her eyes and looked off to the side, already knowing where this was going.

"Someone who could, say, pin someone to a tree from miles away with a spear? Or something? Just spit balling here, I dunno…" He rambled off.

Realization slowly dawned on Pyrrha. "Oh! Um, I suppose I could give it a shot. Miló does turn into a rifle, after all. If…that's okay?" Even though the question was posed towards Jaune, she looked at Weiss. She had asked Jaune to win a prize in the first place and he was technically on a date with **her**.

The heiress sighed and waved her hand, "Go ahead. The lion wasn't even that cute, anyways."

Pyrrha beamed and walked over to take Jaune's place at the stall. He handed her the gun with a wink, "Knock 'em dead, Pyr."

Pyrrha's cheeks colored pink but her soul filled with fire.

Neptune saw the redhead come into his peripheral view and did a double take. "Wait, wha-I…I uh…I was…" He sputtered at a loss for words.

"Let's just make it a friendly competition." She said. "First one to knock down all three stacks is the winner!"

The bluenette simply looked down at the ground, contemplating how he was about to be outdone by his own date, before sighing and flashing her a defeated smile.

"Alright, you're on." He agreed, though he had a feeling he already knew who the victor was going to be.

Pyrrha's true talents shined as she managed to knock down all three stacks of cups with a single shot each. Jaune let out a cheer when the final stack fell and ran up to give his partner a double high-five.

"Nice shot, little lady! You're quite the hawkeye, aren't ya?" The vendor congratulated as he handed her the promised reward. She hugged the gargantuan plush as best she could but her arms could barely warp around the stomach. Each of its limbs sported a paw print at the ends with three felt "claws." Soft fur covered the lion all over and the shaggy mane of orange faux hair that surrounded its cartoonish face spread out in all different directions. It sort of reminded her of Jaune's own head of hair.

"Wow, Nora's gonna get a kick out of this guy." Pyrrha turned towards the blonde with a smile. He returned it with one of his own. "Nice job, partner."

"Thank you, Jaune." His features contorted in confusion followed by a chuckle.

"For what? You're the one that won."

Pyrrha leaned in close. "For letting me play for you. You didn't have to do that." She whispered.

His cheeks went pink and his right hand came up to scratch the back of his neck. "I uh…I don't know what you're talking about."

Her grin morphed smug. "Oh, really? Because I thought your shooting arm was cramped. It seems like you've recovered." He glanced at his supposedly injured arm and remembered the excuse he'd made up. "Uh yeah…I got better." She hummed to signal that she accepted his explanation, though she didn't actually believe him.

The two walked back to Weiss and Neptune, who had left the game stall while the two partners were busy flirting. He held a small stuffed penguin.

"At least, I got one stack of cups with my second shot." He stared at the prize he was initially gunning for held in Pyrrha's arms. "Though I guess you don't want this if you already have that."

Pyrrha gave him an apologetic look. "Um, well…Jaune never won anything…" She received a look of betrayal. "…maybe you can give it to Weiss."

He faced the heiress and held out the doll. She looked down at it and hesitantly took it. "Only if no one else wants it."

Whatever moment the two shared was interrupted by a low grumble. Three sets of eyes looked at Jaune holding his stomach.

"Uh, anyone else hungry?"

 **xxx**

The food stalls at the fairgrounds put forth all kinds of different foods from the four kingdoms. A walk down the crowded aisle was a guaranteed treat for the senses. The smells were obviously to die for, but no one would expect the satisfaction that came with hearing the sizzle from noodles being stir fried, or the magnetism that drew eyes to the gigantic cotton candy caricatures of Pumpkin Pete.

For a certain pair of eager Beacon students, the food stalls were an adventure for the taste buds waiting to happen. For the other two? Not so much.

"Oh no. This might be dangerous. I want to get everything here." Jaune said as his jaw openly drooled.

"I completely understand what you mean, Jaune. It all seems quite appetizing." Pyrrha agreed. She turned towards the previously fighting couple (who were suddenly getting along pretty well ever since the date started, weren't they in the middle of an argument?), "Has anything stood out to you?"

Weiss shook her head. "No thanks, I'm watching my figure. We barely get enough nutrition at the Beacon cafeteria as it is, and everything here looks pretty…greasy."

Neptune shrugged, "Yeah, same. I can't risk getting this fit dirty. You guys go on ahead, though."

"Here, I'll take that guy off your hands for you." Weiss offered to take care of the stuffed lion (Pyrrha named him "Herc").

"Oh…well…okay. If you say so." The redhead said as she handed off her prize. The hesitance in her voice was undeniable. They were letting both of their dates go off and eat by themselves? Was this normal? Was this just something people did on double dates that she never really knew about? Her suspicions had begun to arise, when Jaune dragged her off by the arm.

"C'mon Pyr! They said they're not hungry, that's their loss. Let's go look around!" The sight of a pair of smug smiles and waving hands shrunk from Pyrrha's sight.

…

Jaune bound forward like a hyperactive puppy and she barely kept up beside him. "You see anything you like?" He asked. No answer came. Pyrrha simply stared at her "unrequited" crush.

 _Gods, yes, I do_. They'd been stuck with the other two since the start of the double date and were finally on their own. "Pyrrha?" She snapped out of her reverie at the mention of her name.

"N-No, not yet. I don't doubt that all these dishes are delicious. But we get most of these in the cafeteria or in Vale already. I was hoping to try something more unique."

"Let's keep an eye out, then, and point out anything we find interesting."

She nodded and her eyes roamed both sides of the aisle, passing over various familiar sights until they landed on something especially familiar. "Oh!"

"What is it? See something unique?" Jaune asked.

"You could say that. I never thought I'd see this anywhere outside of my hometown." Pyrrha pointed at a stall offering plates of homemade Mistrali casserole. "It's called _pastítsio_. My mother would make it when I was younger, to celebrate an achievement." She looked longingly at the plates that the stall passed out. The memory of her mother surprising her at dinner with it after her very first victory in a match came to her mind. "Now that I've seen it again, I never realized how much I missed the taste of it."

"Let's go get some." Jaune said, unexpectedly.

Pyrrha's eyebrows jumped. "We don't have to do that. Wouldn't you rather get something else?" Knowing him, he offered to settle for the dish, only because she mentioned missing it. All the members of their team would feel homesick at times, and Jaune always tried to lift their spirits by doing things that would make home feel closer. The last time Ren mentioned that he missed the cherry blossoms that grew in Kuroyuri, Jaune stayed up all night cutting out blossoms in pink paper and sprinkled them all over Ren's bed the next morning. Ren almost cried and gave their leader a rare hug. This was surely another one of those instances.

"I don't mind. It looks good." He grinned. "Besides, I want to learn more about how you grew up."

Her cheeks colored pink for a second time that night. "Alright, then…"

As they got in line, Pyrrha continued describing the dish to her partner: how her mother would always save it for a special occasion since she knew it was her daughter's favorite. The way the creamy béchamel sauce would coat the pasta and bring out the flavor of the meat underneath. Jaune listened lovingly, allowed her to get everything off her chest and drank in the excitement and nostalgia that his "unrequited" crush exuded. She never made it apparent, but he knew that she missed her parents dearly. He had the benefit of being able to visit his family in person if he chose to do so since they lived within the kingdom. But Pyrrha relied solely on ScrollTime, seeing as how her parents lived on an entirely different continent. Sometimes, he would catch her staring at the dorm room clock; wondering if it would be an appropriate time to call if she accounted for the time zone difference.

When they reached the cashier, Pyrrha noticed him start to fish for his wallet. This would not do.

"Oh no, Jaune. You're not paying this time. I insist. I still owe you for the ice cream, after all." She brought out her purse and quickly handed the vendor her payment.

Jaune let go of his wallet; relenting, but clearly unhappy. "I didn't do that so that you would owe me, you know. I did it because I wanted to, and because I was the one that invited you out."

Pyrrha happily took the small plate from the vendor. "I understand that. And I hope you understand that I'm paying because I want to, and because I was the one that invited you to try something you never had before. Just like you did for me."

Jaune furrowed his brow at having his own logic redirected back at him but gave up once he smelled the casserole in her hands. She made a good point. Friends pay for each other all the time. Always out of desire, and never out of obligation. And he and Pyrrha were more than friends, right?

Uh, partners. Just partners. (Though, not for his lack of trying.)

They left the pastítsio stall and walked towards the dining area located at the end of the aisle of food vendors. But the scent of something sweet invaded Jaune's nostrils and stopped him in his tracks, much to Pyrrha's surprise.

"What is it, Jaune?"

His hand came up to point at a stall in front of them, and she followed his line of sight to a sign advertising Valean cookies.

"Palmiers! Oh, man! My mom would make those all the time!" He held her by her shoulders and lightly shook her. "Pyrrha, we **have** to get some! For dessert, at least!"

"Um, sure." Pyrrha allowed, if only because he looked too happy to say 'no.'. And who knew? If Jaune really liked these cookies that much, she might have to learn how to make them for him if they ever got married - not that she fantasized about that sort of future or anything. Honest. That being said, she heard that the best way to a man's heart was through his stomach.

…

The dining area near the food vendors was set in a large area of cut grass. It was littered with wooden picnic tables that sat groups of fairgoers feasting on delicacies and heating lamps to combat any chilly winds. Wooden posts stood in the four corners of the area, connected by strings of paper lamps to provide illumination. Weiss and Neptune saved a table near the edge and appeared to be in the middle of an important conversation. However, it was cut short at the arrival of the JNPR members. They both set down their food, and Pyrrha rejoined her stuffed companion.

Jaune eyed the pastítsio intensely. The casserole was cut into a neat square shape. The béchamel sauce on top somehow looked both crispy and creamy at the same time, while the meat sauce sandwiched between two layers of tube pasta dripped with juice and remnants of diced tomato.

Pyrrha dug in a forkful and slowly took her first bite into the comfort food, allowing the flavor to coat her taste buds. It was rich and decadent, but it also lacked…something. Something that she couldn't quite place. It was certainly delicious, though a tad more expensive than she would have expected. Compared to pastítsio she ate in the past, it seemed incomplete.

"How is it?" Jaune asked, though his gaze never left the plate in front of her.

"Hmm…it's good. But it's missing something. My mother's recipe is a bit better, in my opinion."

"Well, of course it is. Our moms' recipes are always gonna taste better. Cuz they make it just for us."

Pyrrha looked across the table at her leader.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I mean, my mom's cooking always tastes better than anything I can get in a restaurant because my mom's cooking feels like it was made with my preferences in mind. Rather than something made to appeal to everybody. My mom knows me and what I like."

Of course. That's what was missing. The puzzle finally clicked. This pastítsio tasted off because it was common, made for the public. Whereas her mother's pastítsio was special, made only for Pyrrha. Only for her daughter. She took into account the kinds of flavors that Pyrrha liked and disliked, the textures she enjoyed, and the light consistency to avoid it becoming too heavy.

She looked down at the dish, and miraculously, home felt so much closer. Even if her mother was thousands of miles away in another kingdom, she still felt her presence next to her now.

"Can I get some?" Neptune asked, gesturing to the fork in Pyrrha's hand. He opened his mouth, hoping to be fed.

Weiss scoffed from across the table. An emotional moment ruined merely for a chance at sharing the same fork that'd been in Pyrrha Nikos' mouth. Real smooth.

"Oh, here!" Pyrrha produced a second fork from seemingly nowhere and quickly handed it to her date. He barely caught the utensil from falling. This was a disturbance in his usual rhythm.

"Uh…thanks…" He dejectedly replied. Pyrrha merely hummed her welcome.

She took a few more bites of the pastítsio until she looked up to see Jaune still staring at her food.

She smiled and grabbed a couple pieces of pasta on her fork before holding it in front of him, "Want some?"

Neptune was in disbelief at how the blonde managed to get his date to feed him with the same fork without even trying. Was Jaune secretly a total chick magnet and no one knew? Weiss rolled her eyes.

Jaune leaped forward and took the morsel into his mouth. The meat sauce complimented the béchamel well, and the pasta had a certain bite to it as he chewed. This was already pretty delicious. If Mrs. Nikos's recipe was leagues above, then it must be amazing.

"Mmm! It's good! I gotta try your mom's if it's better than this!"

Pyrrha nodded, " **Miles** better." She continued eating, completely relishing the taste of her childhood.

Jaune began on his dessert and picked up a cookie from his small basket of four. Paying 8 lien for just four palmiers was a total rip off. But he'd started to miss the taste of his mom's cooking and this was as good as it got until he could visit home again. He took a bite out of one and pondered the taste. Nope, not as good as his mom. But they did the job just fine.

"Here! Have one!" Jaune offered her the palmier in his hand. It'd been shaped like a heart (which she found absolutely adorable) and the coating of crystal sugar shined in the light radiated by the lamps near the table. She took a bite of the cookie. The baked treat was crispy, and it flaked apart easily. The added sweetness from the sugar cut the buttery flavor already in the puff pastry. Pyrrha definitely saw why Jaune was so obsessed with these.

"How nice!"

"Yeah, I love these! My mom would make them all the time for me and my sisters." He took a bite. "But my mom makes them better, too."

"I'd love to try them one day." The two continued their meal, sharing the two remnants of their upbringing between each other.

The other two members of the double date looked on like third wheels, disgusted by the overt cuteness of it all. How could they do something like feed each other so casually, without acknowledging the fact that they'd shared multiple indirect kisses? Or realize the fact that they both admitted to wanting to meet each other's moms?

 **xxx**

The four teens returned to wandering the fairgrounds after their meal, dates no longer walking together. Jaune and Pyrrha led the charge while Weiss and Neptune trailed behind them, a look of slight annoyance plastered on the boy from Haven. It got on his nerves that the order of the original pairings was largely ignored. But it was Jaune and Pyrrha. What was the use of trying to break them up?

"This entire night has been a real blow to my confidence so far." He whispered to the white-haired heiress next to him.

"I gave you a **choice**. And you agreed to come along. If it bothered you, you should have said 'no.' I would have found someone else." She replied in an equally hushed tone.

"I know that, but I told you: I came because-" He began.

"A Grimm house! I can't believe it! They have everything here!" Jaune exclaimed.

He pointed at a large cardboard cutout of a gray and decrepit mansion. The mansion was jagged and misshapen, with cartoonish cobwebs strewn about to portray its age and red eyes peering out from the windows to resemble Grimm. In the center of the cutout, where the door would have been, was the entrance; a red curtain drawn so that passersby would not be able to peek inside. A worker stood next to it, dressed in a black sheet with patterns drawn all over to resemble a Geist.

"I haven't been to one of these in forever! We should go!" He turned back to the group.

"Hard pass," His date replied as she waved her hand from side to side. "I'd rather not get the living daylights scared out of me by some rando in a cheap costume."

"I'd love to go in and showcase my brimming courage to this lovely lady," Neptune gestured to Pyrrha, "but I'm too cool for this sort of thing, man. It's total kid stuff."

Jaune ignored the blatant jab at 'kid stuff' and made a second attempt at convincing the two to provide their company. Weiss blew off almost every activity so far, even though she was the one that invited him out. And the two of them were getting along surprisingly well for two people that were originally in the middle of a huge argument. All of a sudden, no more animosity between the two as soon as the double date started. What was the deal? "Aww, c'mon guys. It'll be fun, I promise."

"Actually…" Pyrrha chimed in, "I'd love to go. I've never been in one of these before. I must admit, it looks quite exciting."

Weiss held out her arms toward Herc, signaling that she would watch over the stuffed animal again.

"Oh, careful with your words there, Miss Nikos. This is just your first rodeo. Don't underestimate the Grimm house." Jaune warned. _At least Pyrrha's game. We're the only ones having fun tonight._ "Let your guard down, and suddenly you'll find yourself stuck in a maze of endless horrors."

"Jaune, you do know that we fight actual Grimm? How are a bunch of fake Grimm supposed to be scary?"

…

It took all of five minutes into the attraction before Pyrrha realized fake Grimm were a lot scarier than regular Grimm.

Regular Grimm just attacked you, and all one needed to worry about was how to counter; plain and simple. It was no problem taking on a Boarbatusk as it readied its charge, or a Nevermore that rained sharp feathers down upon the earth. Regular Grimm had patterns that Pyrrha knew like the back of her hand that she could exploit in order to gain the upper hand in battle. Regular Grimm were, frankly, **predictable**.

But fake Grimm were quite the opposite. Fake Grimm didn't attack. They stalked. They misdirected. They preyed on the feeling of the unknown. Not knowing what that thing was in the shadows. Not knowing if you really saw something move from the corner of your eye. Not knowing if that thing in the shadows that you maybe saw was going to jump out at any moment. There were no patterns. There was no battle to be won. There was only the anxiety of knowing that something would eventually pop out, but not knowing **when**.

The two partners walked side by side in the maze, but Pyrrha was on high alert. As they rounded a corner of the maze, the hairs on the back of her neck stood at attention. Paranoia creeped up on the former Mistrali champion, crawled down her spine until it sat at her lower back and stayed. It waited, collected, in a puddle of agonizing patience and begged to be set free at a moment's jumpscare. When nothing made itself known, and Pyrrha thought she could finally relax, a maniacal laugh rang from the hall they previously left and it was like a coiled spring unraveled itself spontaneously against the skin of her back. She knew it! She knew something was going to surprise her! It was only a matter of time and she was foolish to let herself think that things looked all clear.

She hated it. She absolutely hated it.

Jaune, however, was surprisingly unaffected. He took each step entirely carefree, unaffected by the fear that seemed to grip his companion. That shadow that moved but he couldn't really tell? Probably a person about to jump out. No biggie. The blood that painted the walls of the maze? Fake, but surprisingly accurate. The "paintings" that are actually just TV screens that change to something scary when you stare at it for too long? Child's freaking play. He turned another corner of the maze head-on and didn't even flinch when the bloody, decapitated head of a King Taijitu dropped from the ceiling.

"Haha, oh wow, these decorations are pretty good." He said with a chuckle after examining the head. Meanwhile, Pyrrha was losing her goddamn mind. She broke into a cold sweat when that carcass dropped in front of them.

"Jaune, how are you so calm right now?" She asked, flinching after the jaw of the King Taijitu opened on its own. She couldn't believe the stark difference between them. She had never felt this kind of frantic chill in her entire life. Each step she took was tense and sweat beaded down her brow. Yet, he walked through the hall of the Grimm house the same as if he walked through a field of flowers. She had never seen Jaune this confident or self-assured in her entire stay at Beacon.

"I grew up with these things. I got so used to things jumping out at me that I don't really feel the suspense anymore. Guess I've just outgrown it." The howl of a Beowolf reverberated down the hall. Pyrrha clenched her fists tight, ready to deck anything that dared to jump out at her. She increased her pace, trailing right behind Jaune.

"Although, it's pretty ironic that I'm not scared of these **fake** Grimm, but fighting **real** Grimm still makes my legs shake." Pyrrha's legs were shaking right now! She walked into the Grimm house incredibly sure of herself, and a brisk walk completely dismantled any kind of courage she'd built up. She reached out and pulled on his sleeve for a fleeting sense of stability. He looked back to the redhead, holding one arm near her chest while the other held onto his sleeve for security. Her eyes darted in all directions, nervously searching for anything that looked like it might spring to life.

His normally self-reliant, yet humble partner whose combat prowess exceeded his own one hundred times over, desperately clung to him like he was the last sanctuary from the freaks that hid in the darkness. Jaune had never seen Pyrrha terrified of anything. And he probably never would again.

If there were any time to tease her, it was this moment.

"Oh my gosh, is the great Pyrrha Nikos afraid? The four-time Mistral Regional Champion? The girl who stabbed a Death Stalker in the eye and cut off its tail, no sweat? Afraid of a Grimm house?"

Pyrrha sputtered, "O-Of course not. Don't be ridiculous. I mean, we've fought real Grimm in the past. I've seen them up close, so I shouldn't be frightened of some…plastic recreations."

Jaune didn't buy it for a second. He'd been through this ordeal so many times already. He could tell when someone was fine, and when someone was undeniably faking how "not scared" they were.

"Wow…I'm finally the calm one in this situation." He gyrated forward, a wide grin splitting across his face. For the first time since his enrollment, Jaune finally wasn't the one out of his element. Every mission, every spar, every training session, he felt like a fish on dry land. The reason he'd made it as far as he had was because he relied on others to help him along. And now, he was the one being relied on. It, admittedly, felt really good.

"Is this how you feel all the time? So full of confidence? So full of power? I need to savor this. I don't know when this kind of thing is going to happen again."

However, his gloating stopped when he noticed that Pyrrha stopped responding to his remarks. He spun towards her, only to find his partner's head down and shaking.

 _Why am I so intimidated? It's fake! It's all fake! And here I am, embarrassing myself in front of Jaune. Gods, I must look like such a child._ The Grimm house was a simple attraction. It was supposed to entertain people, entertain children! She'd fought for her life against monsters of the night, knocked bullies down a peg even when she was outnumbered, saved Jaune more times than she could count on her fingers (toes included)!

But this homemade funhouse that even Jaune found humorous startled her beyond belief and she felt like a **coward**. How could she ever face Grimm again if she could not even handle facing their faux counterparts?

Jaune's grin left, and his eyes turned crestfallen. _What kind of idiot makes fun a girl when she's scared? Oh yeah, me. I'd do that._

What did he have to feel good about? That he breezed through a Grimm house? Pyrrha accomplished more in a week than he'd done in an entire year. But the minute he could exploit her fears, he used it to rub it in her face? What a total jerk move. Cardin would have been proud.

He held her shoulders, rubbing them in small circles to soothe her.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I was being dumb and you didn't deserve all that. It's normal to be scared. Everyone gets scared, sometimes. You're not any different just because you're Pyrrha Nikos. No one expects you to be fearless."

She finally lifted her head, locking eyes with her leader. If she were honest, Jaune's statements got to her. They got to her deep in the bottom of her heart. She hated having the weight of others' expectations press down on her, and she tried not to let them define her. But, sometimes, if felt empowering when she was viewed as a regal and fearless warrior. It was like she was letting those people down by quivering in her boots. But to have her leader comfort her, hold her gently and tell her that she didn't have to feel guilty because of her fears? It almost made venturing into the maze worth it.

"But if it'll make you feel any better, these guys aren't allowed to touch you in any way. So you can rest easy on that if that's what's got you worked up. All they can really do is yell 'boo'."

"Boo!"

A man jumped out from the corner behind them. He dressed in a suit covered in jet black Ursa fur. The white skull face was slashed with sticky fake blood and pieces of rubber flesh hung from its teeth.

Pyrrha freaking shrieked.

Her eyes involuntarily shut themselves and she grabbed onto the nearest thing she could for safety. Anything, at this point, could be used as a shield and she fully intended to protect herself from this newfound threat. After several seconds of silence, she realized that Jaune hadn't spoken up since Ursa-man emerged. Surely, that meant he could be in danger. She couldn't handle the Grimm house on her own, she needed to have Jaune with her if she wanted to stand a chance.

"Jaune…" She probed without opening her eyes, for fear of laying them upon the horrifying creature that nearly made her leap out of her own skin. Or worse, the sight of Jaune being viciously mauled apart by Ursa-man.

"Jaune, are you okay? Why aren't you saying anything?" She chanced a peek out of one eye.

Jaune was frozen in place in front of her. His face was tomato red, and his eyes were as wide as Akoúo̱ itself. He'd seemingly been petrified. So much for being the brave on in this situation. Pyrrha finally relaxed, seeing that both of them had been frightened by the Ursa-man's sudden entrance. "He got you too?"

Jaune cleared his throat. "Um no, not really. I was just kind of surprised when you grabbed me."

Pyrrha's body went rigid, and she slowly looked at what she was clinging onto the entire time.

It was Jaune.

She'd grabbed and bear hugged Jaune.

In her moment of peril, she used Jaune as a shield to protect herself and never released him.

Pyrrha let go of him like he was fire and muttered a myriad of apologies. "OhmygodI'msosorry."

"No no, it's uh-it's fine. You just caught me off guard, is all."

The two of them stood in the middle of the maze, refusing to meet each other's gaze. Pyrrha's embarrassment had possibly reached its maximum potential. Gods, she basically jumped straight into his arms and held him for a straight minute. How mortifying.

Jaune was equally self-conscious about the sudden physical contact. But did he hate it? Of course not. In actuality, he'd quite liked it. In fact, he wouldn't mind more of it.

"I-If you want, though, you can hold onto my arm for the rest of the walk." Jaune offered.

Pyrrha's face shined surprise and her cheeks blushed, but she slowly nodded. "Thank you. It would help."

Her hands snaked around his forearm and hugged it close to her torso. It felt warm, safe. It felt like it was finally where it belonged. A shy and delighted smile spread across her lips. A sudden surge of resolution swelled inside her. The maze could bring on anything. She could take it all on as long as she could hold on to Jaune.

"N-No problem." A gulp resounded from his throat. "Anything to…to help out." His cheeks burned like the surface of the sun.

"Hey, are you guys gonna keep going? Because there's more people coming that I need to scare and it's hard to do that if you guys stick around just to flirt with each other."

 **xxx**

They both managed to make it out of the Grimm house in one piece and Pyrrha let out a breath she'd been holding. They spotted Weiss and Neptune waiting for them near the exit and made their way to them. Yet again, the partners caught the pair in the middle of a conversation that abruptly ceased at their arrival.

"I swear, if they didn't-" The snow-haired fencer started.

"Hey! You two!" Neptune greeted vehemently to signal Weiss to stop talking. However, any follow up was cut short as his eyes wandered to the space in between the blonde and the redhead. Their eyes followed his and realized the cause for his surprise: Pyrrha never let go of Jaune's arm since they left the maze. The two shot apart quickly and both sets of cheeks blushed.

"Whoa, I guess I should have come with. Looks like the maze was pretty intense." Neptune teased. He nudged Jaune in his side and wagged his eyebrows.

Jaune shrugged off the bluenette. "C'mon, man. It was just scarier than we thought it would be. I was just…providing a shoulder to lean on. For support."

Surprisingly, Weiss had yet to comment on the scandalous skinship. Though, the knight swore he saw a slight smirk at the edge of her lips. She yawned and stretched her arms to the sky after Herc returned to his owner.

"Alright, boys, break it up. I'm starting to feel tired. Do you guys want to do anything else before calling it a night?"

 _But you didn't do anything the entire night. It's just been me and Pyrrha._ Jaune thought. _Neptune kinda tried to have fun in the beginning, but then he started opting out of stuff, too. How are you tired?_ Jaune decided not to comment on the heiress's supposed fatigue. Even though it was weird that she asked him out in the first place, he wouldn't have been able to have as good a time as he did with Pyrrha. Plus, she hadn't said anything about the two of them literally walking together linking arms. Maybe he could do her this one solid.

"In that case, how would you feel about riding the Ferris wheel?" Pyrrha suggested. "It caught my eye when we first arrived."

Jaune readily agreed, and Weiss and Neptune happily went along with it.

They made their way towards it, the giant spinning wheel easily found in the distance of the fairgrounds.

Again, Jaune and Pyrrha led the charge as they traveled to their last activity for the night while Weiss and Neptune hung back.

"They better seal the deal with this last one…" Weiss commented out of earshot of her companions in front. Neptune nodded.

The Ferris wheel looked even bigger once they were in front of it. Each of the private carriages were colored in repeating cycles of the rainbow, bright white lights adorning the top and bottom. The windows of the carriage were tinted and the space inside seemed large enough to fit at least six people. A platform sat in front of the lowest carriage, housing a control panel and a tired teenaged worker.

"How many in your party?" The worker asked in a bored and exhausted tone. His hunched back and long, black hair exhibited an aura that simply stated 'whatever'.

"Four of us." Jaune replied and took hold of Pyrrha's hand to help usher her into the hanging metal box, seeing as how she used the other to hold onto Herc.

"Oh, I'm not going." Weiss cut in.

"Me neither, just make it two." Neptune followed after.

"Wait, really? You two aren't coming along? In that case, we can just go home. I'm sorry for dragging you along. That was selfish of me." Pyrrha apologized to the two sitting out. She started to step off the platform, but Weiss stopped her.

"It's fine, Pyrrha. It seemed like you wanted to go, so we didn't mind coming along. Don't worry about us. It's not a problem. We'll just wait."

Pyrrha smiled at her for the first time since the ice queen barged into their dorm room earlier in the week. Who knew she could be nice when she wanted to? "Are you sure? I wouldn't want to impose."

Weiss smiled back. "Yes, we're sure. But if you truly feel bad about it, then take this big guy with you." She shook Herc's paw. "I've been looking after him the whole night. I'm not a babysitter, you know."

"It's a deal." Pyrrha made her way back to the platform and slowly entered the carriage with Jaune's assistance. He followed after, but paused with one foot inside.

"Um, okay, if you guys are alright with waiting for us."

"For the last time, Jaune, we don't mind." Weiss replied. "It's not like we haven't already been doing that the whole night." She whispered to Neptune discreetly, who snickered.

Jaune entered the carriage and the worker gave his standard warnings and procedures with haste: "Okay, lovebirds, don't open the door at any time while you're up in the air and don't shake the carriage, have fun."

Jaune stuttered, "Oh, uh, we're not-" The door slammed shut before he could utter his correction. The carriage shook to life underneath his feet and the view out of the windows slowly transitioned towards the skies.

"Right…" The interior was fairly spacious, with cushioned benches on either end of the carriage. Pyrrha had already set Herc down on the bench to his right close to the door, while she looked out of the window on the end of the bench. He took a step towards the left sat across from his partner.

Lights from the fair faded as the carriage made its ascent and lights from the city prominently took their place. If they looked down, they could see fellow attendants of the festival, walking around. Pyrrha's eyes shined as the view over the cliffs of Beacon revealed the full expanse of Vale. The city lights reminded her of jewels, glimmering against the abyss that housed the bright, broken moon; and the sight of the shrinking people on the ground made her feel like a bird, flying among the clouds. Even if she simply sat in the metal box, she couldn't help but feel tremendous freedom. Like she might sprout blossoming wings at any moment.

While her gaze fixated itself on what went on outside of the tinted windows, Jaune instead stared at the pure look of wonder on Pyrrha's face. She could find enjoyment out of a sight that he'd grown up with, feel amazement at something that he used to think was exceedingly common. He only realized how much he'd taken these simple pleasures for granted when he met someone like her, someone who never had the chance to experience what he believed to be innate. And even though she'd grown up in such sheltered circumstances, unable to relate to her peers or share a quintessential childhood, it never deterred her from putting herself out there. The fear of missing out was but a mere obstacle to Pyrrha Nikos and she allowed the joy of trying something new to wash over her like sunlight's warmth.

And he'd been blessed enough to share that joy with her tonight. It infected him every time he saw her smile and heard her laugh. It burst forth from his heart and washed over him, showering his skin with goosebumps and dragging his cheeks into a smile of his own. It was addicting being with Pyrrha, simply based on the merit of how happy it made him to see **her** happy.

The shootout, the palmiers, the Grimm house: all entirely unfamiliar to her. Yet, she breezed through them with him by her side. And she even paid back the favor and gifted him with something he'd never tried in the form of the pastítsio.

Jaune was glad to be a part of her world, and to see a part of her life that no one else had seen. He felt closer to his best friend, and he suspected that she might thought the same. Though, she might not share his desire to be "more than just best friends." And he was okay with that, really! He was one of her first true friends at Beacon, because he treated her like she was just any other person. If he changed that now, he could lose her. It didn't matter that he thought he'd make her happy for years to come, or that he thought they were compatible.

Actually, he thought they were incredibly compatible after everything they did together.

She won a stuffed animal, they fed each other (which he just now realized they fed each other and they shared a fork, why did no one point this out earlier?), she held onto him at the Grimm house.

If they had went with each other tonight like he planned, instead of Flake and Killjoy waiting on the ground, he would have considered it a pretty good date. He might as well have labeled this a solo date instead of a double date, considering how much the other two opted out of everything he and Pyrrha suggested. Again, he caught himself asking, _What was the point of making it a double date if we were the only ones actually doing any date stuff?_

Unless…

Now that he thought about it, none of the things the two did the entire night were within the realm of "just friends." In fact, it took a certain degree of comfort with each other to be able to pull them off. And if he factored in the ice cream date; or the way the both of them were team Mom and Dad for JNPR; or the way she sometimes borrowed his Pumpkin Pete hoodie when it got cold; or the way that their hands and knees would brush against each other and neither would pull away.

Were he and Pyrrha actually just friends?

Or were they dating the entire time without either of them knowing?

Was it too late to ask 'what are we?'

Speaking of dates, why did Weiss ask him out in the first place? The initial reason was to make Neptune jealous, but they didn't do anything to make him jealous all night. He just went around and had fun with Pyrrha. Same with Neptune. He wanted to make Weiss jealous; but as soon as they arrived, he just let them do whatever while he hung back.

Was this really about making the other jealous? Or was there something else at play?

"Look!" Pyrrha broke Jaune out of his thoughts and invited him to look out of the carriage windows.

They finally reached the highest point in the Ferris wheel and the full expanse of the illuminated city stretched before them. Each open window of an apartment, each sunset orange lamppost, each speeding headlight of a car on the freeway; they all painted an iridescent tapestry of shines on the dark canvas of the night sky.

"Beautiful." She remarked. And though she'd been referring to the grounded stars in Vale, Jaune's attention solely focused on her.

"Yeah…it is."

He'd seen enough romantic comedies with his sisters to know: this was the magic moment. The moment where the guy tells the girl he loves how he feels; when the mood was right, and the atmosphere was dreamy. He just had to say it outright: "Pyrrha, I like you."

But should he?

Sure, the moment seemed right; but Jaune's previous train of thought left a sour taste in his mouth. What if she didn't want something more like he did? What if she liked someone else? What if that someone was Neptune? Was that why she agreed to come tonight? Or did she just try to help a friend? For that matter, was Jaune the same? Was he also just helping out Weiss? And what help did she need, when neither of them so much as raised their voice at the other?

The questions swirled around in the leader's head. He couldn't confess when there were still so many uncertainties looming between them. If he wanted to move forward, he needed to confront them with as little tact as possible.

So much for the magic moment.

"Pyrrha…" He started tentatively, "…why did you tell me to come with Weiss tonight?"

Her face all but fell at his inquiry and her focus ripped from the view outside the carriage down to her feet. "Because you have feelings for her. I assumed you would have liked the chance to grow closer with her."

His worst fears had come to pass. She **still** believed that he had feelings for Weiss, and she decided to do what she thought was best for him. It was sweet when he thought about it…but it was also incredibly aggravating considering the fact that the object of his affections was actually right in front of him.

"That's…thanks, Pyr. I appreciate you trying to help me out. But…I don't like Weiss anymore."

"Oh." Though he couldn't see it, Pyrrha's eyes widened and a small grin forced its way onto her lips. Her heart fluttered and a breath of hope began to fill her. Weiss was out of the race. And as far as she knew, he wasn't interested in anyone else at the moment. It certainly didn't put her at an advantage, but she was finally on equal ground with any potential suitors. Jaune Arc was up for grabs.

"Yeah, I agreed to come because I felt pressured into it, ya know? And she looked like she could have used a friend."

"Yes, I understand. I agreed to come with Neptune for the same reason."

Jaune leaned back in his seat. "I figured as much. You always come to the rescue when someone's in a pinch." His progress at Beacon was a testament to Pyrrha's willingness to assist those in need. It was one of her best traits. She was practically renowned at school for it. Got a problem? Pyrrha can help fix it. With the way students flocked to her for advice, one could probably assume she'd published a self-help book.

"It's actually pretty funny…" Jaune remarked. Pyrrha looked up and tilted her head in questioning.

"…I was…" A nervous laugh escaped his lips, "…I was actually going to ask you out to the festival tonight."

Hold on.

Did she hear that right?

Jaune was going to ask her. HER. Pyrrha Nikos. Out on a date tonight? Was this the moment she'd been waiting for since Forever Falls? The moment she may or may not have dreamt about for months up to this point?

No, he surely meant he was intending to ask her, Ren, and Nora to hang out together as Team JNPR. Of course. That had to be it. Because there was no way on Remnant that Jaune meant he was going to ask her out on a…a date. Well…except for the ice cream date (it was a date to her).

Pyrrha cleared her throat. "How unfortunate. I'm sure Ren and Nora would have wanted to come, too."

Jaune quirked his eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"You were going to ask all of us to hang out tonight, right? And then Weiss and Neptune barged into our room and one thing lead to another…"

He waved his hands in front of his face and chuckled. "No, no. I was just going to ask you. You know…like a-"

"A date." She finished for him.

"Yeah…" Jaune confirmed forlornly. "…But I guess I was too late, huh?"

A sad smile edged onto its way to Pyrrha's face. "Yes…I suppose you were."

The air turned heavy, with neither occupant uttering a word. How was the redhead supposed to respond to her leader's confession? That he'd intended on asking her to come on a date with him all along? Alone? To the Vytal Festival fairgrounds? A date that was ruined due to Weiss asking Jaune out first. And she encouraged him to go with her! She ruined her own chances! She could have kicked herself right then and there. She practically pushed Jaune into another woman's arms tonight under the pretense of helping him when he'd wanted **her** in the first place. Pyrrha hung her head in her hands, hoping to whatever powers were out there that her semblance could suddenly change to 'time travel.'

How did Jaune get to this point? This wasn't how he planned the conversation going at all. He initially brought up the fact that he was going to ask her out to make a second attempt at asking her out right now. How hard was it to just say, "Hey, I had a great time tonight. Let's do it again. Just the two of us, though?" Who followed it up with, "Guess I missed my chance and that's why we ended up going with different people and not each other?" Did he perpetually stick his foot in his mouth when it mattered most? Jaune saw the way Pyrrha's head cradled in her hands, almost as if she were feeling intense regret.

 _C'mon, dude. Think of something. Save the mood!_

He crossed the distance between them to sit next to her. She noticed his new position, but refused to lift her head. The shame of her earlier blunder still stung. "Pyrrha, I…" Was he ready to lay this all out on the line? To potentially face rejection? Maybe lose his best friend if she felt too awkward around him? His heart beat a mile a minute. "…I don't like Weiss anymore."

"I know, you told me earlier." She responded, thought it was muffled by her hands.

"But I'm pretty sure I like someone else now."

Pyrrha's eyes widened like saucers behind her fingers. "O-Oh. That's…good to hear." She'd been so close. He finally got over Weiss. He was going to ask her out. This was supposed to be her chance. Then she told him to go on a date with someone else and now she found out that there was already a new rival? What cruel god of love was torturing her like this?

"And I think she might like me, too."

 _Great, now I've got no shot, whatsoever_. This was the end for her. Jaune and Pyrrha were never fated to be together. It was clear now, judging by how stacked the odds were against her. Even a champion knew when the chips weren't in her favor and she was fighting a losing battle.

"How do you know?" She asked, prying for more information on his new mystery crush. The least she could do was see if she was a good person. That was all she wanted for the blonde, at this point. Even if she couldn't have him, she could make sure that someone else would treat him with the respect he deserved. Jaune was an incredible catch, after all.

"Well, she's really nice to me. She always makes time to talk to me or help me out with my problems. And when I look at her, I mean really look at her, and our eyes meet, I think she looks at me the same way I do: full of affection."

Jaune hoped that he made it obvious enough who he was referring to. His cheeks burned and his eyes would not regard anything except the floor. Why couldn't she just read his mind and find out he liked her? Even if everything ended up working out, he didn't know if he'd ever be able to live down this embarrassment. Whose bright idea was to make revealing your feelings for someone so discomforting? He was virtually tongue-tied just getting out that line about looks of affection. How **cheesy**.

Pyrrha's heart crumbled into dust. To hear about Jaune's affections for another girl was painful enough already. To hear that this other girl felt the same way about him, that they shared gazes of longing with each other, and to know that she would never see that gaze directed towards herself. Yeah, she was pretty sure she was dying of a broken heart. Someone call the cemetery to get her tombstone ready, 'Here lies Pyrrha Nikos, she died as she lived: single.'

"I think you should go for it. If she feels the same way you do, then everything will work out." It tore her up inside to tell the boy who occupied her mind since initiation to be happy with someone else. A black hole opened in her chest and she wanted nothing more than to just disappear along with it.

Even though she supported his romantic endeavor, Pyrrha's mood hadn't improved at all. She got the hint, right? Or did she think this "someone else" was actually a different person from the two people inside this carriage? Was Jaune not making it obvious enough? Maybe this roundabout confession needed to be reworked.

"I want to. But truth be told, I feel kind of insecure."

Pyrrha scoffed. "Why would you feel insecure? Jaune, any girl would be lucky to have you. And if what you're saying is true, I'm sure that she likes you, too."

Yeah, she still didn't get it. Time to go all in.

"I know. It's just that she used to be this big, hotshot champion, so she's kind of a celebrity. And I'm just a shmuck with no combat experience that she helps train on the roof."

 _Wait._

 _I used to be a big, hotshot champion. I'm kind of a celebrity. I help train this shmuck with no combat experience on the roof._

 _…_

 _HOLY CRAP, HAS HE BEEN TALKING ABOUT ME THIS WHOLE TIME?_

Pyrrha lifted her head and locked eyes with the knight next to her. He gave her a sideways glance and a smirk, as if to say, 'yeah, whatever you're thinking, you're right.' This was it. **This** was the moment she'd been waiting for since the dance, since Forever Falls, since first laying eyes on Jaune Arc in the locker rooms. She finally knew for a fact that her feelings were reciprocated. Jaune liked her back. Jaune Arc freaking liked her back! This. Was. Happening!

"Well…I think if I were her…I wouldn't care about any of that. Because I would see you for you: a kind and caring man, who in turn saw me for me."

"You think so?" His eyes darted back and forth between her emerald eyes and her pink lips. He leaned into his partner's side slowly. "I really like this girl, and I want things to go well with her." His face was a lot closer than it'd been when they first entered the carriage. When did that happen?

"I know so." Pyrrha licked her dry lips. "In fact, I have a good feeling that you two would be great together." This was dangerous. She hoped her breath was okay. Nothing said 'romance killer' like stank breath.

"Yeah?" Jaune smelled the vanilla shampoo in her hair and it made him lightheaded. He suddenly wanted to thank Weiss for dragging him onto this double date.

"Yeah…" Pyrrha was sick of this waiting. She'd been waiting for this kiss to happen for almost a year now and she wasn't wasting any more time. She took the lunge forward and locked lips with her leader's.

Gods, they tasted sweet.

Like palmier cookies.

And she saw fireworks behind her eyelids.

Even though she didn't hear any.

Her heart felt full.

 **xxx**

Weiss and Neptune stood off to the side of the platform at the bottom of the Ferris wheel as they waited for the oblivious couple of the night to finish their ride.

"You think it worked?" The bluenette asked.

The heiress quickly typed out a message on her scroll, "If it didn't, I'm going to blow up on them when they get off."

Neptune sighed. "You know, I'm happy to help you and all, but I have never felt more outclassed than tonight. It was disheartening to see how much attention Pyrrha was giving Jaune even though she was 'on a date' with me." His fingers mimicked air quotes when he referred to the date.

Weiss sent the message she'd been working on and rolled her eyes, "How do you think I feel? That dolt used to be all over me. But after the dance, those two are inseparable. I thought they finally got together. Especially after I heard about their little ice cream date. I thought it was finally official, you know? I mean, how **cute** is that?

"But then I ask Pyrrha how her and Jaune are doing and when their anniversary is and she doesn't have any idea what I'm talking about. Now I suddenly find out that they're still just friends? That they haven't even talked to each other about how they feel? I was freaking **livid**."

Neptune ran his fingers through his hair, fixing any potential misplacements. "I did the same thing. I texted Jaune after their ice cream thing about how he's a good boyfriend for doing that for Pyrrha and he texted back 'But we're not dating.' It's like, 'what do you mean, you're not dating!?' I thought he sealed the deal at the dance!"

"Exactly! So I thought, 'You know what? There's no way Pyrrha's going to say anything, she's had months to do so.' And Jaune acts like he's a huge flirt; but once it comes to a girl he's actually in love with, he clams up and doesn't do a damn thing.

"And boom! An idea hits me: I put up this whole double date thing and I just **don't do anything** so that they can just go on a date with each other and finally get it through their thick skulls 'Hey, maybe we should go out.' Gods, they were so infuriating tonight. I thought I was going to pull my hair out. I swear, if I had to put up with all of that tonight and they don't come out of there in each other's arms: I'm going to just get Yang and Nora to lock them in a closet."

Weiss heaved as she finished her rant, the annoyance from the night's various shenanigans finally catching up to her.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. They were disgustingly cute all night. I only agreed to do this because I thought it would finally get those two together. If all that work went towards nothing, and they didn't even talk to each other up there, I'm going to be so mad." Neptune agreed.

A small shriek leapt from the platform, followed by a 'WHOA!'

The teenaged worker covered his eyes with his hand and hurriedly spun around so that he could avert his eyes from whatever he discovered inside the carriage at the bottom of the wheel.

"I'm sorry! I didn't see anything, I swear!"

Jaune and Pyrrha, now wearing his blazer, emerged from the carriage, both red in the face. Pyrrha held Herc in one arm and wrapped the blazer closer to her shoulders with the other, covering a mark on her neck with the lapel.

"No, we're sorry. We got…distracted…" The blond apologized as they distanced themselves from the worker. He hugged Pyrrha close to his side and briskly made their way towards Weiss and Neptune.

A pair of sly smiles crept across the two matchmakers' faces.

Neptune held out a fist towards Weiss, and the heiress bumped it with a fist of her own.

"Looks like it worked."

 **end**

 **6 months and several rewrites later…SUMMER, part 2 of 3 is finally here.**

 **I want to use the excuse that the reason it took so long was because I put up the first part right before finals, and then I graduated university, and then I had to go job searching, etc. But if I can keep it 100% with y'all: I just like playing video games. And the reason this took so long was because instead of writing, I was too busy playing Spider-Man lol.**

 **I never actually planned on making SUMMER a series of chapters, but when I realized that the whole song had just like 3 lyrics, I had the crazy and now insane idea of crafting a chapter of the fic for each lyric. And now I'm starting to realize that I should have planned this all out better.**

 **Because I'm honestly making this stuff up as I go along. And there were so many times where I second guessed how I wanted this part to go and it actually ended up being a lot longer than I expected. I mean this is probably the longest thing I've ever written.**

 **But yeah, I just wanted to thank you if you got this far for giving me a chance. I'm still learning, still improving, and will take any criticisms seriously. Because I do want to get better at this.**

 **Stick around for part 3 coming in like a year probably (yikes). But the concept swirling around in my head now: pay attention to the fact that Jaune never actually asked Pyrrha to be his girlfriend. They just kind of go straight to macking. Might be an important piece of drama and tension in the next part, who knows?**

 **Jokes aside, I really appreciate anyone who is still sticking with me because there's more to come. Just, you know, at slow speeds because I'm lazy and unproductive.**

 **Also, if you want to help beta read this stuff in the future, hit me up. I've just been beta reading my own stuff and I'm super biased and I would love some outside opinions.**


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